A few days after they returned from the ryokan, Soma, Daniel, and Megumi all received invitations from master Senzaemon for a 'leaf viewing' meet and greet with the current members of the Council of Ten. Isshiki explained that it was more than just an outing – it was an opportunity for the council members to meet and talk with the first years who were most likely to vie for seats on the council in the next year. That meant that everyone who had participated in the main tournament for the Autumn Elections would be there. While Megumi was her usual nervous self about meeting these high-level upperclassmen for the first time, Soma was also his usual self in that he had that look on his face indicating that he was thinking about doing something crazy. When Soma then said he wanted to see if one of them would do a food war, Megumi tried to talk him out of it, while Daniel could only shake his head and wonder just what he was thinking sometimes. Internally, he figured he would intervene if the stakes became stupidly high.
On the day of the leaf viewing meet and greet, the first-year students, including Erina, all arrived before the rest of the council members. Although Erina was already a member of the council as the tenth seat, she took a seat on the side of the layout with the other first-year students, as it would both even out the two sides and be more appropriate for her to be with her classmates. The setup was absolutely gorgeous, with the perfect weather and view to see the fall foliage. Alice was teasing Hisako, as usual, and Akira and Ryo were insulting each other and getting on each other's nerves. As for Takumi, he was getting on Soma's case for letting his hair grow out too long. When Soma mentioned that he was too busy getting through the Stagiaire at Shino's Tokyo, Takumi was taken aback, impressed that Soma had not only gotten such an assignment, but had passed it as well.
When Soma then tried to talk with Erina, she tried to brush him off, telling him not to address her so casually. Hisako then said something in a soft voice to Erina, which Daniel was able to overhear – Hisako was suggesting that Erina thank Soma for the manga. Erina, however, insisted that it was merely payment for her testing his dish during the Autumn Elections, and Soma didn't take offense to it. Daniel then gave a friendly greeting to Hisako, trying to make sure not to reveal the true nature of their relationship to everyone else. When she smiled and greeted Daniel back, Erina was taken a bit by surprise, but was either too naïve or too unsure to think that it was more than them being friendly. At that point, the rest of the council was introduced with a bit of pomp and circumstance:
Ninth Seat: Etsuya Eizan (Second Year)
Eighth Seat: Terunori Kuga (Second Year)
Seventh Seat: Satoshi Isshiki (Second Year)
Sixth Seat: Nene Kinokuni (Second Year)
Fifth Seat: Somei Saito (Third Year)
Fourth Seat: Momo Akanegakubo (Third Year)
Third Seat: Tosuke Megishima (Third Year)
Second Seat: Rindo Kobayashi (Third Year)
First Seat: Eishi Tsukasa (Third Year)
It was very quiet when everyone first sat down. The first thing Daniel noticed was the second seat, recognizing her as the girl who came up to the food wars stage after Soma had completed three in a row to taste his food, only to bound away as suddenly as she appeared. The eighth seat, a short boy with blond, spiky hair, broke the ice by suggesting that they call the whole thing off and never have it again, arguing that it was completely pointless, which confused everyone on the first-year side of the setting. This drew a response from the sixth seat, who argued that it was an order from the headmaster that couldn't be refused, and this all started a heated conversation that involved the sixth, eighth, and ninth seats, which escalated into personal insults before long. 'Man, if our group has a few problems getting along, then they are just downright dysfunctional!' Daniel thought to himself.
Suddenly, the first seat turned towards Daniel and began to address him. Just as Daniel was wondering what words of wisdom he might have, his face became very whiny as he complained about the extra paperwork Daniel's food war with Mimasaka had created. "I really wish you two hadn't done that right before the main tournament like that – and with your spot on the line, too?" This was not the personality type Daniel was expecting and was so surprised that he could only give a soft apology, though he wasn't exactly sure what for. 'Better to just show respect for my upperclassman for now,' Daniel thought to himself. He definitely got the sense that this guy wasn't very good in front of large crowds aside from actually cooking. Only a loud slap on the back from Rindo got Eishi out of his depression.
Soma then ran out of what little patience he was holding in and abruptly asked if anyone on the ten was interested in having a food war with him, whether or not it would be for a seat on the council. Daniel face palmed at the seeming casualness of Soma's request, while Takumi chided him for even making it in this setting. All of them flat-out refused his request, though Kuga went further to say that it would be beneath them to entertain a food war request from a first year at this point. He emphasized the fact that the second years on the council were worried enough about trying to move up to have anything to do with the whims of a precocious first year like Soma. At this, Daniel got a little annoyed as he thought, 'It's fine if he doesn't want to bother with the food war, but he could be a little more magnanimous about it.'
When Soma tried to plead his case, saying that they didn't even have to wager anything, Kuga groaned in frustration, exclaiming, "You really still don't get how important the Council of Ten is, do you?" He then began to explain the extent of the authority and resources the members of the Ten held. The power they had was only superseded by that of the headmaster, and they had enough money and resources to obtain whatever ingredients, equipment, and other research materials they could possibly want – even super rare items that normally went for millions on the collector's market! As long as it furthered their cooking, they basically could do, and have access to, whatever they wanted. As Daniel listened, his eyes widened as he thought, 'Holy crap! No wonder a seat on the council is so coveted!'
Eishi then added his own take. "Life is too short, and the world of culinary knowledge is too vast to learn it in one lifetime," he said, "but being on the Council of Ten allows you to progress and grow your knowledge that much faster." As though to subtly emphasize the point, Rindo announced the surprise of a sweet treat for everyone, created by the council's resident pâtissier, Momo, who seemed annoyed at the whole thing. Nonetheless, plates containing her creation came out, with one serving for everyone there. Along with the matcha tea, everyone was excited and intrigued to taste something made by a member of the Ten! It was a walnut-maple cake with a blue cheese mousse and apple compote, covered by a cranberry gelatin coating, with pieces of maple candy decorating the outside, all presented beautifully and elegantly.
When Daniel took a bite of the cake, it was unlike anything he had ever tasted! It was so smooth and creamy, but also so light and pleasant on the tongue, despite the intense flavors present. Daniel's mind was absolutely blown, as he knew that this was no ordinary confection, and was beyond his abilities at this point in time. 'Man,' he thought, 'I have got to figure out a way to get on that girl's good side so I can possibly learn from her before the year is out. I wonder if Hisako could help me with that. Or maybe Isshiki would be a better person to go to for help on this one?' As his head was cleared, he could hear Eishi say to Soma, "Now you see…the vast difference in ability between the members of the Ten and everyone else?"
Then, as though to drive the point home, Kuga once again emphasized that they had no time to waste on the 'lowly' first years, which really annoyed Soma. He then added, "But, if you think that there's anything at all that you have cooking-wise that would allow you to beat me, I would consider having a food war with you." As Soma's face lit up with a ray of hope, Nene interjected with, "His height." Kuga then got visibly pissed and screamed back, "We're talking about cooking, you she-devil!" After Soma confirmed that Kuga had said what he thought he said, Kuga and the other upperclass members of the council began to get up and leave the area while the first years stayed seated until the others had left.
As the first years began to leave themselves, they began discussing what they had heard and seen, with most of the conversation focused on Soma's bold ask and the behavior of their senpais. As they chuckled at just how badly the second years got along with each other, Daniel tried to get everyone's attention as he said, "You know, I think this should serve as an example for us about how not to behave with each other." While a few of them were confused as to what he was getting at, the rest began to listen intently. Daniel continued, "I still stand by what I said at the opening ceremonies. If we were to be more cooperative, and learn and grow from each other, we will all be better chefs and better people for it. So how about it, what do you say we all promise to actually get along with each other?" He had no trouble getting Soma, Megumi, and Takumi on board, while Hisako said that she could agree to that if everyone else did. Alice, Ryo, Hayama, and especially Erina, however, were very skeptical of Daniel's suggestion. Daniel sighed and then said, "How about we at least promise to be better than they were?" On that, everyone was able to agree at least grudgingly.
Over the next several days, Daniel could visibly see that Soma was racking his brain trying to figure out a way to meet Kuga's terms so that they could have a food war. One day, as Soma and Megumi were riding their wheels, and Daniel was keeping up, alternatively on foot and by riding for short distances on the back of Soma's motor scooter, the topic of the leaf viewing event came up, and Soma was still thinking aloud about his options. While Megumi was worried about what would happen if Soma got what he wanted, she also understood how Soma must have felt being spoken to the way Kuga did. Frankly, Daniel was almost in the mindset of fully backing Soma in whatever crazy scheme he thought of – almost.
As they were out and about, they saw a bunch of large moving trucks come up to the main gate of the school. When Soma asked about it, Megumi mentioned that it was probably equipment being brought in for the upcoming Moon Festival. As Soma asked what it was and Megumi was explaining it, Daniel thought to himself, 'Oh, yeah! Hisako explained that to me. She mentioned it was coming up.' Once Megumi had given Soma the rundown of what the Moon Festival was about, Soma got a look on his face that said he had a big (and possibly crazy) idea. He then explained that he was going to challenge Kuga with a stall at the Moon Festival – whoever did the best in sales would win the challenge.
A couple of days later, Soma marched to the quad after class with a booth application form in his hand. When they had returned from their walk the other day, Isshiki had invited them to join the rest of the dorm in their own booth by the river area, but Soma explained that he wanted to challenge Kuga with his own stall. Isshiki understood, but was still a bit disappointed. Daniel turned down Isshiki as well, explaining, "Someone has to keep Soma out of trouble." While Isshiki chuckled, Soma growled with a loud, "Oi!" Over the next couple days, Soma was able to find out that Kuga's specialty was Chinese food. With that information in hand, Soma felt he was ready to submit his declaration of war.
As he walked up to the stand in the quad, Erina and Hisako were already there, having just turned in the form for Erina's booth, which was promptly approved. Off to the side was Ikumi, along with Kanichi and another first year girl named Nao Sadatsuka, who wanted to challenge Bowl Club for their festival location. As Soma handed his application form to the officials, they gasped in shock as they saw not only that Soma wanted to set his booth up right next to Kuga's, but that he would also be doing Chinese cuisine. They all thought he was crazy, and Daniel frankly couldn't blame them. Nonetheless, the committee approved the application. As Soma gave a confident smirk, Erina retorted with, "You do realize that if you fail to make a profit, you'll be kicked out of Totsuki, right?" At that, Soma was stunned into silence while Daniel face palmed at Soma's naivete.